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Cuno Engineering Corp. v. Automatic Devices Corp.

314 U.S. 84, 62 S. Ct. 37, 86 L. Ed. 58 (1941)

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Cuno Engineering Corp. v. Automatic Devices Corp.

United States Supreme Court
314 U.S. 84, 62 S. Ct. 37, 86 L. Ed. 58 (1941)

Facts

Issued in 1921, the Morris patent claimed a wireless or cordless lighter for cigars, cigarettes, and pipes for use in an automobile. Several years later, Copeland filed for a patent on an electric lighter whose circuit was automatically controlled by a thermostat. After the Copeland application, H. E. Mead applied for a patent on an invention that applied Copeland’s automatically controlled circuit to the wireless design of the Morris patent. The Mead patent was issued and assigned to Automatic Devices Corp. (plaintiff), which sued Cuno Engineering Corp (defendant) for patent infringement. The federal district court found no infringement. The court of appeals reversed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Douglas, J.)

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